The Mission of the Seton Hill Physician Assistant Program

In the spirit of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, which is to live in service to others, particularly the poor and vulnerable, Seton Hill University’s Physician Assistant Program prepares its graduates to provide quality, patient-centered health care that seeks to transform lives, families, and communities. Through rigorous academic training and service experiences, motivated students are developed into compassionate physician assistants who care for diverse populations with humility, respect, empathy, and dignity for the human person.

University Mission Statement 

Program Goals

Goal 1: Prepare students with the requisite medical knowledge, interpersonal skills, professional behaviors, clinical and technical skills, clinical reasoning abilities, and problem-solving abilities to successfully enter the healthcare workforce.     

Goal 2: Provide students with the training to practice evidence-based medicine and patient-centered care.     

Goal 3: Provide rigorous academic experience that promotes academic excellence. 

Goal 4: Foster a culture of professionalism, preparing students to work effectively with other health professionals and to provide collaborative care.

Goal 5: Cultivate opportunities for students to become empathetic and ethical providers with respect for patient diversity through participation in service and learning experiences.

Click here to view the program’s effectiveness in meeting its goals (PDF).

Program Competencies

Medical Knowledge

• MK1: Apply principles of basic and clinical science, including anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, and genetics to identify, diagnose, and provide patient centered care to healthy and ill patients.
• MK2: Recognize the etiology, risk factors, and epidemiology of various medical conditions.
• MK3: Select, interpret, and apply diagnostic studies to inform clinical decision-making related to patient care.
• MK4: Differentiate pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic treatment strategies, including patient education and counseling, in caring for healthy and/or ill patients who present with various medical conditions.

Interpersonal Skills

• IS1: Use effective communication skills to elicit and provide information to patients, families, and health team members.
• IS2: Establish rapport with patients and families to build meaningful, therapeutic relationships.
• IS3: Demonstrate sensitivity, honesty, and compassion to provide care that is responsive to diverse cultural health beliefs and practices, preferred languages, health literacy, and other needs.
• IS4: Establish respectful working relationships and interact effectively with all members of the health care team.

Clinical and Technical Skills

• CTS1: Conduct effective, patient-centered history-taking and physical examination for comprehensive and problem-focused patient visits.
• CTS2: Convey aspects of a patient encounter to all health care team members through accurate and timely written and verbal communication.
• CTS3: Perform procedural and clinical skills considered essential for entry into PA practice.
• CTS4: Counsel and educate patients and families from diverse backgrounds to empower them to participate in their care and enable shared decision-making.

Professional Behaviors

• PB1: Collaborate with physicians, other health professionals, and health care teams to optimize team member roles and coordinate care.
• PB2: Demonstrate respect for the dignity and privacy of patients, including maintaining confidentiality, patient autonomy, and informed consent in the delivery of team-based care.
• PB3: Exhibit an understanding of the regulatory environment, and laws and regulations regarding professional practice.
• PB4: Approach the provision of quality care with consideration to financial impact, safety, and cost-effective resource allocation.
• PB5: Recognize the impact of societal, psychosocial, and cultural influences on health care and health outcomes, to care for patients and communities.

Clinical Reasoning and Problem-Solving

• CRPS1: Synthesize information acquired through all aspects of patient encounters and the medical literature to develop appropriate differential diagnoses and management plans for acute, chronic, and emergent health conditions.
• CRPS:2 Interpret data collected from diagnostic, laboratory, and imaging studies and procedures to accurately diagnose acute, chronic, and emergent health conditions.
• CRPS3: Formulate health management strategies, including pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic therapies, and patient education, in the prevention and treatment of acute, chronic, and emergent conditions.
• CRPS4: Integrate understanding of cultural, socioeconomic, environmental, and other population level impacts on health into medical decision-making and the development of individualized care plans.

Attrition

Seton Hill's Physician Assistant Program aspires to have all matriculating students successfully graduate from the program.  The program attempts to identify students who are not meeting academic expectations as early as possible. These students will complete a self-evaluation form and develop a plan of action for achieving academic success. This self-evaluation and plan is reviewed with the student by their faculty advisor. Areas of weakness are identified, and the student can access a robust array of University support services - such as counseling services, disability services, the wellness center and the academic achievement center  - for assistance. Students may also work individually with their instructors when specific areas of content weakness are identified. The program goal is a yearly attrition rate of less than 10%.

* Attrition rate calculation:  Number of students who attrited from the cohort divided by the entering class size.

** Graduation rate:  Number of cohort graduates divided by the entering class size.